A Couple of World Environment Day Highlights

The mayor of London told a gathering of world mayors Friday that they could unclog city streets and fight global warming by charging hefty fees to drive in congested areas of their communities.

Mayor Ken Livingstone said making drivers pay a "congestion charge" to drive in central London has improved traffic flow and reduced emissions of "greenhouse gases" blamed for raising temperatures and changing weather patterns worldwide.

Former Vice President Al Gore urged an assembly of international mayors to fight global warming Saturday, warning of catastrophic consequences for the planet if governments fail to act. Gore, who helped draft the landmark Kyoto treaty on global warming that the United States never ratified, said that climate change was already melting glaciers, raising temperatures and altering weather patterns worldwide.

Without significant action, he said, the planet would see a dramatic increase in violent storms, infectious disease, deadly heat waves and rising sea levels that will force the evacuation of low-lying cities such as Calcutta, Shanghai and New York City within decades.